Monday afternoon Apple Mods: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly from a busy weekend of Mac hardware …

It's no secret that I love a good computer modification. It doesn't matter if it's a Mac, a PC, or an Amiga: if it's done well and with care, then it generally gets me swooning. The Mac mods get a little more of my love though—you don't see them as often, and they sometimes run a somewhat relevant operating system (Amiga OS, I'm looking at you).

Today I bring you the good, the bad, and the ugly that came to our attention this weekend.

The Good

This Steampunk Mac Mini is a beautiful example of a well-done modification. One Dave Veloz created the mod as a gift for his bride on their wedding day. The machine was on display at the ceremony showing pictures of their engagement. The detail work on the Mini alone is worth mentioning, but add to it the modified keyboard/display and—in my mind—this would easily be a contender for best mod in The Great Mac Mod Challenge.

The Bad

The Apple Floppy Amp is not really bad, but we have to stick with our theme here. An individual from Instructables took an oldschool 5.25" Apple Floppy disk drive, gutted it, and replaced the internals with a Sonic Impact 5066 T-amp. The result is a compact amplification unit for his computer with a retro look. It isn't as clean as what I enjoy seeing, but the skills involved are beyond mine, so I give it props nonetheless. If you feel so enticed, the tutorial goes over how to make your own unit.

The Ugly

The ugly is a modification of the brand new MacBook Air. Someone, who perhaps found Apple's newest foray into new laptop design a bit on the hefty side, decided to replace the bottom with carbon fiber. Before we go on, we should note that this isn't a finished product—it will be fitted with thicker carbon fiber, sanded, and clearcoated. Let's hope that the clearcoat works miracles, because right now, it isn't exactly pretty. The owner says the machine is now lighter, but at what cost?